


my ghost, where'd you go

by najaeminnie



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Ghost!Hyuck, M/M, but give it a try, fellas idk what this is i wrote this at 1am sorry in advance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-17
Updated: 2018-05-17
Packaged: 2019-05-08 01:28:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14683581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/najaeminnie/pseuds/najaeminnie
Summary: Mark didn't sign up for this.





	my ghost, where'd you go

**Author's Note:**

> hello, this is a 1am fat mess so i'm sorry in advance, I didn't even let anyone beta it so be my betas hunties

"Okay, are you ready?"

"Ready."

"EMF meter on?"

"On."

Slight panic settles in. It'll be okay.

"Cameras."

"On."

"Audio recorders."

"On."

It's not too late to back out. But he needs the money.

"Heart rate monitor."

"Working."

"Current pulse?"

"110 bpm."

A laugh from the other side of the screen. "Mark calm down, I'm watching you - there's nothing to be scared of."

A weak response. "I'm fine."

He inhales and exhales. One, two, three. He opens his eyes. The padded white room only contains five things: him, two black chairs, a black table and a small toy piano. The chair across the table is eerie although nothing has happened yet. Even after the 2 hours of preparation he just went through, Mark doesn't know what to expect. The fear is immense and he doesn't know what he's doing here. He turns his head to the right and stares at himself in the mirror, trying to make out the figure on the other side of it to reassure himself that he'll be okay, that he's safe. His face stares back at him, clearly pale even in the dim grey lights. He looks dead and the thought makes him laugh. The dead meeting the dead.

He doesn't know who he'll meet here and that's the worst part.

"The likelihood of it being a demon is close to zero. What sane demon would want to show up in the basement of a church?" The man told him.

Mark nodded absent-mindedly, choosing to stare at the man instead. Dr. Yukhei Wong is gorgeous and Mark will deny the fact that it's his face that lured him here this morning, and not his need for money, forever. Dr. Wong and his fear were the reasons he zoned out through most of the prep tutorial which only makes things worse than they already are. He can't even remember the safe word to use if he feels any pain or in danger. He wants to ask but doesn't want to seem like a fool - he wants to impress the doctor after all.

The lights dim further and he's faced with darkness.

"Ghost box."

"On."

A loud static noise fills the empty room, blasting through the boy's eardrums. The padding on the walls takes only some of it away and the rest continues bouncing off and surrounding him.

The sound continues for what seems like years and Mark thinks he's going to go mad. Dr. Wong will face serious consequences at this rate.

"Ask them to come." A loud voice booms through the room out of nowhere, making Mark jump. He swears he can hear a whisper of 'dumbass' before the speaker was turned off.

He rubs his sweaty palms under the table and clears his throat. "H-hi, I'm Mark Lee...if there's anyone here could you talk to me? Say my name back to me? Do something?"

Nothing happens. Mark lets out a breath he's been holding; no one's here . He feels more confident now.

"Maybe you like to play the piano? Press a key or a few?" A smile begins to form on his lips. "I like music so perhaps you could play me a melody."

Nothing. Mark leans back on his chair and stretches, all fear dissipating.

 _"Hello."_ Mark nearly falls off his chair.

"H-hello?" He says back.

 _"Mark."_ The box says quickly.

The hairs across Mark's body stand. He freezes. He tries to remember what he's meant to do.

 _"I. Can't. Play. The. Piano."_ The voice comes with breaks as the radio bands switch.

"Oh. Sorry." Mark says.

 _"It's. Okay."_ The voice says.

Mark exhales. At least they're nice.

"Who are you?"

_"Why. Do. You. Want. To. Know."_

Mark frowns. He doesn't remember what to do if the ghost asks questions.

"Because I want to be your friend."

Static.

"Don't you want a friend? Aren't you lonely?"

_"Be. My. Friend."_

Mark shudders; did the radio voice sound _sad_ ?

"Sure. What's your name?" He says confidently. Something in him suddenly wants to befriend the ghost.

 _"Lee. Donghyuck."_ The radio voice seemed to turn to a higher pitch.

"Lee Donghyuck." Mark whispers the name to himself. "How old are you?"

 _"Seventeen."_ The radio says in the same high pitch.

"And how long have you been seventeen?"

_"I. Don't. Know. "_

"Oh." Mark suddenly feels upset. Is the boy even aware of time?

_"Can you see me?"_

Mark shifts in his seat and looks around. The room is pitch black just like before.

"No."

It's silent for a full minute and Mark wonders if Donghyuck went away. He feels odd.

 _"I think I know how to make you see me."_ The voice suddenly comes back. Mark notices that every word is no longer broken off but suddenly forms smooth sentences.

"How?"

 _"Um, so I think you have to imagine me."_ Mark wonders if it's his imagination or if the radio voice sounds shy.

"I guess you should describe yourself." He says.

_"Oh. Well, I'm quite short...about 5 foot 8..."_

Mark smiles. So he's taller than the boy.

 _"I'm wearing a white shirt that says NCT on it, not sure what that means. Black ripped jeans and red converse. Is that all? Can you see me?"_ The boy asks.

Mark decides that he likes Donghyuck's voice as it becomes more human by the second. He tries his best to imagine the boy when he realises he doesn't know the most part - Donghyuck's face.

"Could you describe your face? It's kind of important."

_"Oh yeah, sorry. This is quite embarrassing, you know. I...have curly brown hair, um, kind of big eyes, uh, big-ish lips. I remember being told my nose is a boopy nose so there's that. And I have tan skin so I look like I just came back from a holiday in Greece permanently."_

Mark furrows his brows in concentration as he tries his best to imagine everything the boy just told him. He feels slightly dizzy from the amount of effort he's putting in.

"You look constipated." A voice in front of him says amidst a giggle.

This time Mark really does fall off the chair and doesn't want to get up.

"Are you gonna lie there forever? I don't have the energy to get you up." The boy says from above him.

"I don't want to." Mark mumbles into the padded floor.

"You're the first person I've talked to in... _this_ form and you can see me too. Please get up." Donghyuck's voice becomes more desperate with every word.

Mark feels guilty and slowly gets up. He crawls back onto the chair and stares at his hands for a while before finally looking up across the table, where Donghyuck now sat.

He lets his eyes drift across the boy's features and realises that he has been completely wrong when he imagined the boy. Donghyuck was way more stunning than the rather average boy he imagined with the description. His face was, for lack of a better word, perfect in Mark's eyes. The boy's features were mature and yet his curly hair gave him a more childish look. His nose is definitely boopy. The shy smile he's giving Mark makes his stomach feel weird. However, Donghyuck's skin stands out the most; the boy has a golden _glow_ and Mark thinks that this is what the sun would look like if it were a seventeen year old boy. He quickly decides that Donghyuck doesn't give his own beauty enough credit.

"You're really," Mark pauses to collect his thoughts, "pretty," is what comes out. He wants to facepalm - couldn't he think of a better word? Pretty? Even five year olds could do better.

To his surprise, Donghyuck still blushes in response. "I'm not." The younger whispers. "You're very handsome." He says.

Mark's cheekbones show as he smiles at the boy, also blushing. "Shut up. You don't have to respond to a compliment with a compliment, it sounds fake."

"But I mean it!" Donghyuck exclaims with wide eyes. Mark's smile only gets bigger and he can feel himself getting more fond of the boy by the second. He wants to boop his nose.

"I know you do." He laughs.

"So, what do we do now?" Donghyuck asks.

"You tell me, I'm your friend."

"Oh right. I forgot," Donghyuck blushes once again, "How about talking music? You said you like music."

"Ah, good topic. I quite like rap - Drake and Jay Z, you know?" Mark asks the boy but the blank look on his face tells him that he, in fact, doesn't know. Mark changes his tactic. "What about you?" He asks instead, not at all feeling weird about having a conversation with a ghost.

Donghyuck frowns at the table, seemingly deep in thought. "Actually...I don't remember any singers or songs? Is that bad?"

Mark's eyebrows rise. "But you have an NCT shirt on?"

Donghyuck looks down at the shirt which simply has the neon green letters spelling out NCT in a fancy long font at the front. "Is it a singer?"

"They're a boy group. You must've liked them. Good choice, I like their music. The 7th Sense was always a favourite of mine." Mark tells him.

"C-could you sing some part of it? Maybe I'll recognise it." Donghyuck asks softly.

Mark blushes. "Uh," he awkwardly brushes his nape, "okay." He taps his finger on the table for for a rhythm. Donghyuck watches him closely. _"I’m doubting this moment, between dreams and reality, I have something else to check, just like you right now, uh. "_

Donghyuck stares at him as Mark stares back. "Sounds like our situation." Donghyuck says.

"Your voice is nice." Donghyuck finally whispers while leaning forward and holding his head in both hands like a child. Mark finds it cute. "I think I see why I liked them, they sound good." Mark smiles. "Or maybe it's just you." The older hates the way his cheeks betray him.

"So...how come you're still here? Do you have...unfinished business or something?" Mark cringes at how stereotypical that sounds, hoping that the younger isn't offended. He isn't, judging by his laugh. Mark feels flutters in his stomach.

"I actually don't know, believe it or not. No one told me what to do. I have no 'ghost mentor'," Donghyuck makes air quotes with his fingers, "I'm just hoping that I won't be stuck here, wherever this is, forever. You were right when you said that it must be lonely. I'm so bored and so lonely." Mark feels slightly overwhelmed at the response and finds his eyes stinging.

"Hey, I'm the one who should be crying idiot, you're alive and you should cherish it." Donghyuck grabs Mark's hand.

"I hope you'll move on soon." Mark says while staring at their interwined hands.

"I'm kinda scared of hell, not gonna lie." Donghyuck tells him jokingly.

Mark smiles at that. "So, um, maybe you could tell me about yourself?" Mark hates the amount of times he stuttered during the conversation.

A melancholy frown takes over Donghyuck's features. "I don't remember anything from my life. I thought that I would, I thought I'd be able to visit my friends and family but I don't remember them." He says with a sad sigh.

"Ah, I'm sorry." Mark feels dumb and insensitive; he should've figured out that the boy doesn't remember anything when he said he doesn't remember NCT.

"I do remember someone though," Donghyuck suddenly perks up, "a boy named Jeno. I follow him around when I'm bored. Some entity drags me to him like a magnet and I'm not sure why."

"Maybe...maybe you liked him when you were alive?" Mark offers.

Donghyuck scoffs. "Then why can't I follow any of my other friends."

Mark shifts in his chair. "I mean like, _loved_ him." He says quietly. The idea somehow makes him feel uneasy.

The boy's eyebrows rise. "Do you think I loved Jeno?"

"Perhaps. Maybe your final mission is to let him go."

"It would make sense, I guess; I do feel angry for no apparent reason when he goes out with this other boy, Jaemin. With the way they talk about me, I think I was close with him too. He always comforts Jeno and sometimes I think Jeno likes him. I still feel this inexplicable annoyance and something like...betrayal, you know?" Donghyuck finally lifts his head to look at Mark who's staring at the table now.

"Maybe your job is to let them be happy. Do you not want Jeno to be happy?" Mark asks.

"I do," Donghyuck says after thinking for a while. "I think I'm content with them being together. If we were best friends then I guess he's just as badass as me otherwise I wouldn't have accepted him." A smile finally appears on his face.

Mark laughs, "Where did the sudden confidence come from?"

"Mark, I may not remember anything about my life but I definitely remember my attitude. It's how I've been surviving here; by speaking to chairs and tables and Jeno when he can never hear me and being sarcastic."

Mark hears a beep from the corner of the room and it startles Donghyuck. "What was that?"

A feeling of dread washes over Mark. "I think the recorder's battery is dying."

"Oh. I forgot we were being recorded." Donghyuck grabs Mark's hand once again. "I think I'll have to go soon. Won't whoever is watching us tell you to leave if the recorder dies?" He asks gently, stroking his thumb across the back of Mark's hand. Mark watches the action intently.

Tears begin to well up Mark's eyes as they hear another beep and he isn't sure why. In such a short amount of time he's become attached to Donghyuck and doesn't want to let him go. Thoughts run through his head at the speed of light - how they could've been great friends if they met in real life, how he didn't ask how Donghyuck died which was highlighted three times on the paper Dr. Wong gave him, how maybe Donghyuck feels the same.

Donghyuck stands up, still holding Mark's hand, so Mark has to stand up too. "Mark, I really wish I knew you in real life. You could've saved me." Mark feels a pang in his chest.

"I was wondering if you could, if possible, visit Jeno and Jaemin for me? Jeno lives in a blue house about three streets down from here, just keep turning left," Donghyuck rushes his sentences, "Tell them I'm happy and tell them I'm pleased for them and that I'm rooting for them."

Tears are slowly escaping down Mark's cheeks. He lets out a quiet sob. "Of course."

"I feel so much lighter now, I don't know how to describe it. Maybe this is what I was meant to do - to talk to you. You really helped." Donghyuck smiles softly at the crying Mark, resulting in his sobs being louder.

"I guess I'm glad you're not a demon." Mark laughs while trying his best to wipe his tears. He hates all of this. Why did he sign up to this? He knew something was going to go wrong the moment a really attractive massive guy approached him at a grocery store.

"Who knows, I might end up as one after I leave." Doghyuck says with a smirk and Mark can feel the attitude. "Would you like me to possess you?" He asks.

Mark considers it. "Sure, it might be fun."

The boy laughs as his grip on Mark's hands becomes looser and his eyes widen in fear with Mark's expression mirroring his. "I gotta go." He whispers.

But Mark didn't want to let the boy go. "Stay." He says, gripping the younger's fading hand as tight as possible and the other doesn't even flinch.

"Mark, you're a great person. Just think about me from time to time and maybe I'll come. I'm not sure how this works but I'll try." Donghyuck's eyes start to glisten.

Mark acts swiftly, suddenly pulling the boy into the tightest hug he ever gave as both sob about their short friendship that's somehow stronger than those they had and have in real life. Donghyuck is disappearing in front of his eyes and suddenly Mark's ears are greeted with the sound of the loud static of the ghost box.

"Don't forget me, Hyuck." He tells thin air.

"I'd never." He hears a whisper amongst the static.

\----

The sound of a slamming door nearly makes Dr. Wong fall off his chair.

"Were you sleeping?" Mark asks, unable to hide his shock.

"What? No, I was just relaxing while watching you." The man says while stretching, clearly not realising how obvious he makes the fact that he was sleeping. Mark wonders how he ever became a doctor.

"Can you show me the footage?" Mark asks. He's curious and shaken, he already misses Donghyuck.

"Sure, come here." The doctor gestures for Mark to come close. Mark's heart doesn't flutter at the proximity like he expected.

He watches as Yukhei reverses the footage from the cameras to the beginning. Nothing is happening, Mark is in his chair. The man turns on the audio recordings. Nothing but the static of the ghost box. The doctor frowns.

"I think the footage is corrupted." He fast forwards it to reveal Mark sitting still in his chair, gaze never leaving the door to the room. His hands don't move and nor does his head. Mark panics; has nothing been recorded?

"Wait, how long is this?" He asks.

"Uh, about five hours? How did you manage to stay still for that long?" Yukhei turns to him with raised eyebrows.

"I-I didn't sit still. I had a whole conversation with a ghost! He was beautiful! The most beautiful boy I've ever seen and you're telling me none of it was recorded?" Mark's voice rises with every sentence.

"I'm telling you, I think the footage is corr-"

Mark slams the door behind him as he runs out of the lab and the church, tears streaming down his face. He doesn't understand what happened and how it happened. Did he fall asleep? Was Donghyuck even real? There's only one way to check.

He stands in front of an obnoxiously sky blue house amongst a street of grey and white houses and Mark thinks that Jeno's family must like to be the center of attention. He knocks.

A handsome boy with platinum blonde hair opens the door and smiles in such a bright way that for a second Mark is breathless.

"Can I help?" The boy asks.

"A-are you Jeno?" Mark asks.

The boy hesitantly nods. Mark tenses.

"Who is it?" He hears a deep voice come from behind Jeno. Another ridiculously attractive boy appears over his shoulder. Must be Jaemin, Mark figures.

"I was wondering if you know - knew - a Lee Donghyuck?"

Jeno's smile drops quickly as Jaemin squeezes his shoulder.

Jeno holds the door open. "Come in," he says.

The evening is filled with tears, grief and happiness.

\----

It's been three months. Three months of Mark thinking about the golden boy daily.

"Just think about me from time to time and maybe I'll come." The words repeated in his head like a mantra. But he avoided it. He wanted to move on. Yet he can't.

"Fuck it." Mark growls and digs out a photo from under his textbooks. He never wanted to look at it again. But here he is, looking at it a photo of Donghyuck holding two yellow dandelions to his cheeks with a sea of dandelions in the background. Everything was yellow and yet Donghyuck managed to stand out, brighter than the rest.

"He was like sunshine, we needed him to live." Jeno told him. Mark agreed.

So he sits down on his bed and stares at the photo intently, trying his best to imagine the shining smile, the curly hair and the attitude. He concentrates so hard that his head begins to hurt and sighs when nothing works. He's pitiful for hanging onto a dead boy. He gets up from his bed and looks up.

"Dandelions make me look cute don't you think?"

**Author's Note:**

> please leave some comments (and maybe kudos if you're feeling nice) to help me get over this tragic piece of writing
> 
> love ya, mwah
> 
>  
> 
> [cc](https://curiouscat.me/the7thsensecult) // [twt](https://twitter.com/the7thsensecult)


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